Re: [Hammock Camping] Hammock Failures

only possibilities i can think of are that maybe even the 1st two fabrics were even thinner, lighter fabrics than you thought. the 1.2 is pushing it for sure

Message 1 of 7
, Feb 5, 2007

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only possibilities i can think of are that maybe even the 1st two fabrics were even thinner, lighter fabrics than you thought.
the 1.2 is pushing it for sure if you just used one layer.
maybe you were unfortunate enough to get fabrics that had weak spots from when they were made. that is puzzling.
do you raise up on your elbows when getting out or moving around in the hammock?
also, what is your weight?

Bill Thomas <hamish54@...> wrote:
Thank you to all of the good ideas & info from the groups members.

I need ideas on possible failure causes of 3 hammocks I made. The first
one was made of 1.8 oz ripstop, second a Wally World $1/yd polyester
muslin, and 3rd was of 1.2 ripstop nylon. All were based on Speer's
design except instead of knotting the ends, they were gathered and
frapped to form a loop as the HH hammocks are. The spectra suspension
cord was tied to the loop. All of the failures were at the foot end of
the hammocks from 10" to 2' from the end. What's puzzling is that the
most use any of them had was about 10 nights, they weren't left exposed
to the sum, and I always remove my shoes before laying down. They were
stored in snakeskins inside. Currently I'm using a travel hammock with
no problems but would like to resolve my failure problems to make my
own.

Bill T.

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teblum@verizon.net

You don t specifically say that you hemmed the fabric all the way around. If you didn t, that would be the likely cause of failure. Tom

Message 2 of 7
, Feb 5, 2007

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You don't specifically say that you hemmed the fabric all the way around.

If you didn't, that would be the likely cause of failure.

Tom

Dave Womble

Bill, Like Tim I would need more hints than you gave and would also be suspicious of whether or not your fabric was just not strong enough to hold you. I

Message 3 of 7
, Feb 5, 2007

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Bill,

Like Tim I would need more hints than you gave and would also be
suspicious of whether or not your fabric was just not strong enough
to hold you. I assume your 1.8 oz ripstop is the more familiar 1.9
oz ripstop nylon with DWR and I would think it would be as durable,
if not more, than what I think a travel hammock is. What I recall as
a travel hammock uses lots of small cords on each end of the
hammock. I haven't had experience with hammock failures like you are
having, but I inspect them and look for problem areas from time to
time and have retired ropes and hammocks that looked troublesome
before they failed. I would have thought you would have noticed
problems or problem areas before, or as they totally failed, and had
some idea as to what the cause was.

Pardon this as I am an old engineer and I have learned that sometimes
people don't understand fundamental concepts as well as they think
they do. And sometimes I bring up things that I question whether
people have overlooked and they haven't. In regards to failures,
when materials are stressed and they survive a test at a certain
stress level, it doesn't mean they can survive that same stress over
and over again. Actually, the closer the stress was at the test
level to the maximum that material could survive in its new and
unused state, the more likely it will fail at repeated tests at that
same test level. Climbing ropes, parachutes, etc are usually
monitored and retired after so many usages because of this and in
labs where materials are stress tested the samples that are tested
are routinely retired and not used for anything else. Lightweight
backpacking hammocks are not made out of materials that are strong
enough to last a lifetime of heavy use, they need to be treated as if
they are vulnerable to pokes and punctures when they are weighted by
an occupant and that ropes and straps can be damaged by sharp bends
and edges. They need to be inspected and repaired or replaced as
necessary... when you see something that looks like it is weakening,
pay attention to it because that usually indicates that a failure is
likely to occur at that spot with repeated usage. In all of the
hammock failures I recall hearing about, the person involved was able
to walk away with only their dignity somewhat damaged, but there is a
serious risk when a hammock fails so please inspect your hammocks and
keep them in good working condition. Using hammocks until they fail
is a risk that folks should be discouraged from doing, I know that Ed
Speer and Karn have done that but it was a risk they knowingly took
to learn more about the useful live off the hammocks Ed manufacturers.

Give that the failure was near the foot end, I wonder if you are pushing yourself up the hammock length, using your your feet, each time you move around - the

Message 4 of 7
, Feb 5, 2007

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Give that the failure was near the foot end, I wonder if you are
pushing yourself up the hammock length, using your your feet, each
time you move around - the whole inert mass of your body is
transferred through your heels to a relatively small fabric area as
you push to overcome the friction and move yourself....

Just a thought.....

Gordon

Bill Thomas

Thanks for the suggestions. BTW I weigh 175#. Very well it may be that I ve been pushing off with my sock heels to move up in the hammock that may have

Message 5 of 7
, Feb 5, 2007

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Thanks for the suggestions.

BTW I weigh 175#. Very well it may be that I've been pushing off
with my sock heels to move up in the hammock that may have
overstessed the fabric. Curriously, two of the failures occured on
first night on the trail, first on the Quachita then on the Colorado
trail. So, I just converted to being a ground sleeper with my K-mart
blue pad and continued on. What was puzzling was what that the
failures occured with low usage <10 nights. Probably, I just need to
stick with a heavier material.

If pushing off might be the problem, hang the foot end a little higher might fix it, and make the hammock a little longer. Ralph ... [Non-text portions of this

Message 6 of 7
, Feb 5, 2007

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If pushing off might be the problem, hang the foot end a little higher might
fix it, and make the hammock a little longer.

Ralph

On 2/5/07, Bill Thomas <hamish54@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the suggestions.
>
> BTW I weigh 175#. Very well it may be that I've been pushing off
> with my sock heels to move up in the hammock that may have
> overstessed the fabric. Curriously, two of the failures occured on
> first night on the trail, first on the Quachita then on the Colorado
> trail. So, I just converted to being a ground sleeper with my K-mart
> blue pad and continued on. What was puzzling was what that the
> failures occured with low usage <10 nights. Probably, I just need to
> stick with a heavier material.
>
> Bill Thomas
>
> --- In hammockcamping@yahoogroups.com, tim garner <slowhike@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > only possibilities i can think of are that maybe even the 1st two
> fabrics were even thinner, lighter fabrics than you thought.
> > the 1.2 is pushing it for sure if you just used one layer.
> > maybe you were unfortunate enough to get fabrics that had weak
> spots from when they were made. that is puzzling.
> > do you raise up on your elbows when getting out or moving around
> in the hammock?
> > also, what is your weight?
> >
> > Bill Thomas <hamish54@...> wrote:
> > Thank you to all of the good ideas & info from the groups
> members.
> >
> > I need ideas on possible failure causes of 3 hammocks I made. The
> first
> > one was made of 1.8 oz ripstop, second a Wally World $1/yd
> polyester
> > muslin, and 3rd was of 1.2 ripstop nylon. All were based on
> Speer's
> > design except instead of knotting the ends, they were gathered and
> > frapped to form a loop as the HH hammocks are. The spectra
> suspension
> > cord was tied to the loop. All of the failures were at the foot
> end of
> > the hammocks from 10" to 2' from the end. What's puzzling is that
> the
> > most use any of them had was about 10 nights, they weren't left
> exposed
> > to the sum, and I always remove my shoes before laying down. They
> were
> > stored in snakeskins inside. Currently I'm using a travel hammock
> with
> > no problems but would like to resolve my failure problems to make
> my
> > own.
> >
> > Bill T.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > don`t leave the CREATOR out of the creation!!!
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------
> > Bored stiff? Loosen up...
> > Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games.
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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